HOMILY 2 #

A Teaching on the Sunday When the Gospel Parable of the Prodigal Son Is Read

Behold, beloved, the days of the honorable, holy, and great fast are approaching, and for this reason, the Gospel speaks to us of repentance. Hear this parable:

The Lord said: “A certain man had two sons” (Luke 15:11).

Who is this man?—The merciful God. And who are the two sons? The two sons are the righteous and the sinners. And the younger son said to his father: “Father, give me the portion of the inheritance that falls to me” (Luke 15:12).

The younger son represents the sinner, for sin entered the world later. The inheritance is heaven and earth, the sea and the rivers, and all creation, which God has entrusted to us. He also sent the Law and the Prophets for our sake. Yet sinners choose by their own will to perish, because of unrighteousness and foolishness, for we have free will to choose good or evil—to do either good or evil as we wish.

And when the father divided the inheritance between them, he, in effect, gave them the commandments. The younger son, taking his portion, went into a far country. This foreign land signifies concern for the body and the desires of sin. The elder son, receiving the commandments, was justified, while the younger son, committing sins, departed from God and lost virtue, living prodigally.

And there arose a great famine in that land—not a famine of bread, but the lack of hearing the word of God. And he began to suffer want, meaning he was deprived of the holy and precious Mysteries, for he had no fear of God. Yet those who fear God never suffer want.

Then he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country—these citizens are the demons. And that citizen sent him into his fields to feed swine, meaning he was teaching others evil—robbery, fornication, slander, usury, drunkenness, hatred of brethren, malice, and other wicked deeds. But the lover of sin is never satisfied: after a brief pleasure, he will suffer torment forever. Thus do the demons honor those who serve them.

Then, coming to himself, he said: “How many hired servants of my father have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son; make me as one of thy hired servants” (Luke 15:17-19).

And not only did he say this, but he acted upon it. For it is impossible to be saved by words of confession alone if deeds do not follow. Truly did the Evangelist say, “he came to himself” (Luke 15:17). For when he was sinning, he was outside himself.

For if a man hardens himself in sinful wickedness, he does not fear the judgment of God, nor does he heed instruction. The hired servants are the catechumens. When someone reaches the rank of son but later falls into sin, and sees those worse than himself partaking of the holy Mysteries while he himself stands outside the Church, then he is moved to repentance.

And while he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and ran to meet him, and embraced him, and commanded his servants to clothe him in the first robe, and to put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet, and to kill the fatted calf (Luke 15:20-23).

Such is the mercy of God: He does not await sinners with judgment, but receives those who repent. The servants are the priests. The first robe is the cleansing of sins. The ring is the grace of the Holy Spirit. The shoes are the evangelical commandments and teachings. The fatted calf is Holy Communion, which the faithful receive and rejoice with the angels.

But the elder son was in the field (Luke 15:25). The interpretation: The field signifies the Law, which the righteous do not abandon, enduring to the end. Yet it is truly marvelous that, though the elder son was righteous, he complained against his father.

Such is the grace of God that even the righteous are troubled by His long-suffering. They do not envy the salvation of sinners, but they marvel at God’s loving-kindness. For David said: “How long shall the wicked triumph?” (Psalm 94:3). And Jeremiah said: “Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? Thou hast planted them, and they have taken root” (Jeremiah 12:1-2).

And what did the elder son say? “Thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends” (Luke 15:29).

The interpretation: The righteous son speaks as one who is afflicted, saying, “I have endured suffering and was not left to perish that I might find relief, but my whole life I have suffered from sinners.” The saints spoke these words from a heart grieved with sorrow.

And the father said: “Son, all that I have is thine, and thine is mine. This thy brother was dead and is alive again, was lost and is found” (Luke 15:31-32).

He was dead, that is, serving the devil among the heathen, not knowing God. And those whom God considers lost are the faithful who, after baptism, commit many sins and unrighteousness. But the one who was found—he repented.

Therefore, let us also repent, that we may be saved in Christ Jesus our Lord.